It was the dying moments of Game 7 against the Boston Bruins, about three minutes to go, with the Leafs leading 4-2 and looking ready to move on to the second round.

Dave Nonis was in a hallway of the TD Garden near the Toronto dressing room, and some well-wishers were coming up to the Maple Leafs general manager to congratulate him on a job well done.

Then the bottom fell out. There would be no moving on.

The job was obviously not done well enough.

Nonis indeed has his work cut out for him this summer, trying to figure out what components of this version of the Leafs need to be kept, what ones need to be coddled, and what ones need to be replaced. And if replaced, with whom?

The salary cap comes down next year — to $64.3 million from $70.2 million — further complicating matters.

Here are the dilemmas Nonis faces.

CORE QUESTIONS

Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, James Reimer.

The Leafs can offer Kessel, Phaneuf and Reimer contract extensions beginning in July. Most teams usually try to keep their core players happy, and if the Leafs choose not to extend Kessel and Phaneuf, the season will be bogged down by trade rumours concerning both. The theme: better to trade them than let them walk as unrestricted free agents in 2014.

Kessel will get $5.4 million next season. He’s an elite scorer and could probably fetch upwards of $7 million in 2014.

Phaneuf will earn $6.4 million — the Leafs’ highest-paid player. You can’t ask the captain to take a pay cut, can you?

Reimer is in a bit of a different boat, being a restricted free agent come 2014. He will earn $1.8 million and would be due for a hefty raise if the Leafs determine he truly is their No. 1 goalie. Other goalies with better pedigrees may well be available on the trade market (Roberto Luongo, Jonas Hiller, Ryan Miller) but Reimer may have converted a few non-believers this year. The price to acquire a superior goalie may not be worth it if the netminding gain is only incremental, especially considering the holes the Leafs have elsewhere.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

Tyler Bozak, Clarke MacArthur, Colton Orr, Ryan O’Byrne, Mike Kostka.

Bozak’s case is intriguing. He has a variety of talents: faceoffs, penalty killing, speed, hockey smarts — and he’s Kessel’s best friend and roommate. The knock? He’s not a No. 1 centre. He should get far more points — even by accident — playing with Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. But then, who is better and available? Mike Ribeiro? Derek Roy? Arguments can easily be made that Bozak is the best centre on the free-agent market. He will probably be looking for Mikhail Grabovski-type money. He may get it from the Leafs, who’ve made overtures. But that may spell the end of Grabovski in Toronto.

MacArthur hurt his own cause with a poor regular season. He went from being a top-six player to a depth player to a sometimes scratch. He showed real improvement in the playoffs. He was money in the bank. But it may be a case of too little, too late. The Leafs have some depth wingers with the Marlies who can play for less money.

Orr will probably return. Randy Carlyle likes him and uses him to his strengths

O’Byrne, a trade-deadline acquisition, will probably move on. He is kind of slow for today’s NHL.

Kostka’s game declined as season went on. He’s a smart player, though. Could see him back as a depth defenceman. Could see another team giving him a shot.

The Leafs have more control over RFAs than UFAs, being able to retain rights and match offer sheets.

Kadri could become an interesting case. If the Leafs choose to play hardball to keep his salary low, he could go through what Ryan O’Reilly and P.K. Subban went through earlier this season, holding out for a better deal.

Franson may well be the breakout player of the year, leading the Leafs blue-liners in points in the regular season and playoffs.

Can’t imagine the Leafs parting ways with either Franson or Gunnarsson, both core blue-liners.

Komarov, Frattin and Colborne also promise to be back. Komarov is a super pest without being a rat. Frattin probably takes over as a third-liner, a cheaper, faster version of MacArthur. Colborne looks ready for prime time and offers solid size and depth at centre — as well as a chip to play in Kadri talks, Bozak talks and Grabovski trade talks.

Fraser certainly earned his accolades, but could be on thin ice if Leafs land a better bruising defenceman.

COMPLIANCE BUYOUT POSSIBILITIES

Mikhail Grabovski, Mike Komisarek, John-Michael Liles.

If Nonis wants to retain Bozak, and keep Kadri happy and get under the declining cap, he may have to take advantage of his two allotted “compliance” buyouts. They would basically pay a player not to play for them, turning the player into an unrestricted free agent. The buyout won’t count against the salary cap (the way Darcy Tucker’s buyout is still eating up $1 million a year with the Leafs).

Komisarek is almost a no-brainer. He’s obviously not in the team’s plans. Buying him out will free up $4.5 million in salary-cap space.

Liles has three more years at $3.875 million coming to him; Grabovski, the team’s highest-paid forward, has four more years at $5.5 million.

Before Nonis goes down the buyout road with either, he’d try the trade market. He might get something for Grabovski. Teams love his skill set, if not his size.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.